"Our Marster wuz Mr. Mordecai Ed'ards. Well, he wuz pretty good--not too
good. He tried to make you do right, but if you didn't he would give you
a good brushin'. Miss Martha, Old Marster's old 'oman, warn't good as
Old Marster, but she done all right. Dey had a heap of chillun: Miss
Susan, Miss Mary, Miss Callie, Miss Alice, and it 'peers to me lak dere
wuz two mo' gals, but I can't 'call 'em now. Den dere wuz some boys:
Marse Billy, Marse Jim, Marse John, Marse Frank, and Marse Howard. Marse
Frank Ed'ards lives on Milledge Avenue now.

"Old Marster and Old Mist'ess lived in a great big fine house what
looked to me lak one of dese big hotels does now. Marse Jack Ed'ards wuz
de fust overseer I can ricollec'. He wuz kin to Old Marster. Marster had
two or three mo' overseers at diff'unt times, but I don't ricollec' dey
names. Dere wuz two car'iage drivers. Henry driv de gals 'round and
Albert wuz Old Mist'ess' driver. Old Marster had his own hoss and buggy,
and most of de time he driv for hisself, but he allus tuk a little
Nigger boy namad Jordan 'long to help him drive and to hold de hoss.

"Lawdy! Mist'ess, I couldn't rightly say how many acres wuz in dat
plantation. I knowed he had two plantations wid fine houses on 'em. He
jes' had droves and droves of Niggers and when dey got scattered out
over de fields, dey looked lak blackbirds dere wuz so many. You see I
wuz jes' a plow boy and didn't know nothin' 'bout figgers and countin'.

"De overseer got us up 'bout four o'clock in de mornin' to feed de
stock. Den us et. Us allus stopped off by dark. Mist'ess dere's a old
sayin' dat you had to brush a Nigger in dem days to make 'em do right.
Dey brushed us if us lagged in de field or cut up de cotton. Dey could
allus find some fault wid us. Marster brushed us some time, but de